# Don Cheadle **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835 "2009-01-24T21:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/21 "2009-01-25T14:52:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” > > - Michael Caine, on “Jaws: The Revenge” I came in to post this. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/22 "2009-01-25T15:06:18Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I think he’s really bland. He’s never stunk up a screen, but he’s never lit one up, either. Check out _Devil in a Blue Dress_. Completely stole the movie from Denzel Washington. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/23 "2009-01-25T17:14:19Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I think he’s really bland. He’s never stunk up a screen, but he’s never lit one up, either. And just being in that piece of shit _Crash_ is enough to bring his stock down for me. Dude, have you seen _Out of Sight_? Have you seen _Devil in a Blue Dress_? He played secondary characters in both, and stole both movies from the stars, by “lighting up the screen,” as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/24 "2009-01-25T17:56:59Z")
I adore him. I haven’t gotten the guts to watch Hotel Rwanda yet. One day my love for Cheadle will overcome. How hard is it to watch, really? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/25 "2009-01-25T18:07:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > He was so appalling in _Ocean’s Eleven_ - IMO the weakest link in an otherwise brilliantly entertaining movie, though that’s probably because I’m English and his accent sucked so badly - that when I saw _Hotel Rwanda_ I didn’t even realise it was the same actor until about half the way in, and had to confirm that it was indeed him when the credits rolled. Which further confirms my hypothesis that it was his accent that put me off, because he was superb in the latter movie. This character would have been infinitely better if Cheadle were playing an IRA man, dodgy Norn Iron accent and all. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/26 "2009-01-25T18:10:48Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Dude, have you seen _Out of Sight_? Have you seen _Devil in a Blue Dress_? He played secondary characters in both, and stole both movies from the stars, by “lighting up the screen,” as you say. I will check out Devil in a Blue Dress, and give him a fair shake, but stealing the show from Denzel is no great feat, in my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/27 "2009-01-25T18:22:24Z")
I adore him. I haven’t gotten the guts to watch Hotel Rwanda yet. One day my love for Cheadle will overcome. How hard is it to watch, really? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/28 "2009-01-25T20:24:16Z")
Difficult but worth it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/29 "2009-01-25T20:51:32Z")
Heck, I even think he was great in the Ocean movies. Yes, the accent is absurd, but the whole movie is absurd. He’s still great, and his frustration at trying to get the guys to understand a rhyming slang reference was hilarious. Don Cheadle’s one of those guys who truly vanishes into a role, like Gary Oldman. A true - uh, whatever the opposite of “Character actor” is, Don Cheadle is that. Watch his performances in “Out of Sight,” “Hotel Rwanda,” and any other randomly chosen Cheadle role - Traitor, Traffic, whatever you want. Completely different. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/30 "2009-01-25T21:22:40Z")
I love “Out of Sight” and Cheadle’s one of the best things about it. I was flipping channels about an hour ago, and “Out of Sight” was on Channel 9, and it was about 10 seconds away from the greatest line in the movie, which belongs to Cheadle. Knowing it’s an [R-rated line (spoilers)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120780/quotes), I was curious as to how it would be censored or overdubbed. The result: “A situation like this has a high potentiality for the common monkeyfeather to bail out!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/31 "2009-01-25T21:44:26Z")
Heh, I never found that Gary Oldman vanishes into a role. Don Cheadle either for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/32 "2009-01-25T21:55:20Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Heh, I never found that Gary Oldman vanishes into a role. Don Cheadle either for that matter. Then you’re not talking about the Gary Oldman in _True Romance_. Or _The Professional_. Or _Sid and Nancy_. Or _Batman Begins_. He’s hard to recognize as the same actor in those four films. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/33 "2009-01-25T22:40:50Z")
Yeah, Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I didn’t even recognize him Batman Begins until the very end when I thought, “hey, the guy they got to play Gordon kind of reminds me of Gary Oldman.” And then I saw the credits :eek:. By the way, RickJay, that is character acting, not the opposite of character acting. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/34 "2009-01-25T23:22:29Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Yeah, Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I didn’t even recognize him Batman Begins until the very end when I thought, “hey, the guy they got to play Gordon kind of reminds me of Gary Oldman.” And then I saw the credits :eek:. By the way, RickJay, that is character acting, not the opposite of character acting. No, it’s the **absolute opposite** of a character actor. A character actor is an actor who is easily recognizable as playing a certain role and thus usually plays the same type of role over and over. Character actors are typically supporting actors and quite often have physical traits that make them stereotypically identified with a certain character type, thereby allowing the audience to immediately understand the character’s role. Steve Buscemi is a character actor. 90% of the time, he’s a weird weasel. He looks like a weird weasel, and is good at acting that way. Joe Pesci is a character actor (angry little Italian guy.) J.T. Walsh was a character actor. R. Lee Ermey should be in the dictionary next to “Character actor.” An actor who effectively plays many different types of role is the opposite of a character actor. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/35 "2009-01-26T00:33:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > No, it’s the **absolute opposite** of a character actor. > > An actor who effectively plays many different types of role is the opposite of a character actor. So according to you, Paul Giamatti, Gary Oldman, and Martin Landau - 3 of the most successful and revered modern character actors - are not character actors at all. Interesting. I’m sure they’d all be surprised to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/36 "2009-01-26T00:51:52Z")
And I just saw **Hotel for Dogs**. Loved it. But I’m a sucker for cute dogs. The OP implies that it was somehow embarrassing for Don Cheadle to be in it. I’m not sure why. I admit that the role was a little odd for an actor of his caliber. I mean, “kindly social worker” doesn’t exactly require major chops, but just because it was an easy role in a lightweight movie doesn’t mean it was beneath him. I just figured he did it for the paycheck or to return a favor, or maybe because he’s really into pet adoption and wanted to support the campaign associated with the movie. Regardless, I’m glad he was there. He really does make any movie just that much better. **Cisco** : I’m not sure you know what “character actor” means. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/37 "2009-01-26T01:04:25Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > So according to you, Paul Giamatti, Gary Oldman, and Martin Landau - 3 of the most successful and revered modern character actors - are not character actors at all. Interesting. I’m sure they’d all be surprised to hear it. I’m not entirely familiar with Gary Oldman’s earlier work - he’s been around awhile - but he quite certainly isn’t a character actor now. He is the very opposite. A character actor is an actor who specializes in playing one particular kind of character. That is why they’re called “Character actors.” Gary Oldman doesn’t do that; he is, in fact, rather well known for being an actor who can play a limitless variety of different roles. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/38 "2009-01-26T01:07:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > No, it’s the **absolute opposite** of a character actor. > > A character actor is an actor who is easily recognizable as playing a certain role and thus usually plays the same type of role over and over. Character actors are typically supporting actors and quite often have physical traits that make them stereotypically identified with a certain character type, thereby allowing the audience to immediately understand the character’s role. > > Steve Buscemi is a character actor. 90% of the time, he’s a weird weasel. He looks like a weird weasel, and is good at acting that way. Joe Pesci is a character actor (angry little Italian guy.) J.T. Walsh was a character actor. R. Lee Ermey should be in the dictionary next to “Character actor.” > > An actor who effectively plays many different types of role is the opposite of a character actor. Sorry dude, not correct. A character actor is someone who specializes in doing _different characters_. The opposite is someone like Cary Grant or Kate Hudson, not actors so much as stars. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/39 "2009-01-26T01:29:33Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Sorry dude, not correct. A character actor is someone who specializes in doing _different characters_. The opposite is someone like Cary Grant or Kate Hudson, not actors so much as stars. I guess we’re working off different definitions, since I have never heard such a thing. I was always taught “Character actor” meant “An actor who specializes in a particular character.” It seems a pointlessly vague term to just mean “an actor who isn’t a star.” Sadly, there are few definitions handily available on the Web that clearly support either case, except Wikipedia, which supports mine. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835/40 "2009-01-26T01:33:16Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > Then you’re not talking about the Gary Oldman in _True Romance_. Or _The Professional_. Or _Sid and Nancy_. Or _Batman Begins_. > > He’s hard to recognize as the same actor in those four films. Yea I saw Gary Oldman there in all of them. Recognized him immediately. [Brendan Gleeson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322407/), now he disappears into a role. Not Gary Oldman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-cheadle/482835.md?page=3)